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Candidate hits campaign trail with healthy, restored smile.

A winning smile is essential to Eugene Kowalski, who is campaigning for election to Seat Four on the DeBary City Council. Eugene has been a resident of DeBary for more than 30 years and is a graduate of the University of Florida.

Eugene Kowalski

As a businessman and Class A general contractor, Eugene managed, developed and consulted on billions of dollars of construction projects over more than 40 years. The smile he had, however, didn’t match the professional image he
wanted to project.

“I was in Toastmasters International for quite a while,” Eugene shares. “Running for office gives me an opportunity to use my Toastmasters skills and business experience to help the City of DeBary. Unfortunately, I’ve been blessed with bad teeth.”

Eugene’s poor teeth affected his smile and his self-confidence.

“I had some issues with tooth decay,” he continues. “A family member had issues with his teeth and had all of them pulled by the time he was seventy. I’m proactive. I needed a dentist to correct the issues with my teeth and was willing to help with my health issues as well.”

Luckily, Eugene met that dentist on a cruise ten years ago. It was Richard C. Montz, DDS, of River City Dentistry in DeBary. After talking to Dr. Montz casually, Eugene liked the dentist’s personality. He also found Dr. Montz to be highly intelligent, so he decided he wanted Dr. Montz to be his dentist.

Most recently, Eugene counted on Dr. Montz to give him a campaign-worthy smile. The dentist began his work by making sure Eugene’s mouth was healthy. Because of serious dental conditions that could affect other parts of the body, the decision wound up improving Eugene’s general health and wellbeing.

“In one tooth, a root was cracked, and when Dr. Montz pulled the tooth, he found what he said was the biggest abscess he’d ever seen,” relates Eugene. “If he hadn’t pulled that tooth, I would still be living with a serious health issue that was hidden. Now, I’m healing.

“I was having some health issues at the time, but I didn’t realize they were associated with the infection in my tooth. When Dr. Montz found that abscess and corrected it, my health improved dramatically.”

Once Eugene’s infection was resolved, Dr. Montz concentrated on improving his smile using restorative dentistry techniques. As part of that, he recommended dental implants in some instances where Eugene’s teeth were simplynot salvageable.

“Eugene had a few failed root canals and breakdowns in other teeth,” reports Dr. Montz. “He broke a couple of teeth, one I’ve never seen broken in that manner. Several of his teeth failed and required extraction, so he’s had five dental implants placed to date.”

“Having some of my teeth pulled caused me to rethink my overall strategy,” offers Eugene. “So, Dr. Montz and I came up with a proactive approach to improve my dental health and my smile.”

Dr. Montz recommended restoring Eugene’s smile with new crowns, which impressed Eugene. He also admired Dr. Montz’s straightforward style when it came to recommending the appropriate dental procedures for him. The dentist suggested the best options for Eugene’s oral health and budget.

“Sometimes, a person goes to the dentist and is told a tooth can be saved, so they make an investment in dental work and eventually the tooth has to be pulled anyway,” Eugene comments. “I appreciate that Dr. Montz was upfront and honest. He told me that under the circumstances, I’d be better off with an implant instead of making an investment I’ll never recover. The tooth was just going to get worse.”

Functional and Cosmetic

Dr. Montz points out that in dentistry, there’s a distinction between restorative and cosmetic dentistry. Restorative is done to restore form and function, while cosmetic concentrates on improving aesthetics. He argues, however, that all dentistry today is designed to be cosmetic.

“Restorative and cosmetic are essentially redundant, because anyone who does any kind of dentistry should be concerned about cosmetics,” he asserts. “Restorative dentistry can be functional, but it also improves the patient’s appearance, even when it’s done in the back of the mouth.

“Patients don’t want shabby smiles, which is why we use techniques that are both functional and cosmetic. It used to be amalgam was the standard treatment for fillings, but today we use a tooth-colored material that’s more aesthetic. We also use crowns without metal bases so there are never dark lines showing up when the gums recede.”

Dr. Montz used these technologies to restore Eugene’s weak smile. First, however, the dentist noted that a major contributing factor to Eugene’s dental issues was his ongoing problem with clenching and grinding his teeth.

“Clenching and grinding put a great deal of pressure on the teeth,” explains Dr. Montz. “Over time, dental work starts breaking, things steamroll and pretty soon the person loses a tooth here, a tooth there. After that, the same amount of pressure is placed on fewer teeth, which intensifies the process.

“I don’t know why it started, but Eugene developed a clenching and grinding problem, and some of his teeth started separating. That allowed debris to get down between his teeth, so decay developed and those were the teeth that were replaced with implants.

“As we get him stabilized, we’ll create a custom-made occlusal guard for him to wear over his teeth, especially at night. The guard will help temper some of the forces and protect his teeth and the implants.”

To replace the teeth over Eugene’s implants, Dr. Montz chose all-porcelain crowns. In addition to being more aesthetically pleasing, they are stronger than traditional porcelain-fused-to-metal crowns. The dentist also chose individual crowns for Eugene rather than a bridge for the restoration.

Eugene takes to the campaign trail feeling moreconfident about his smile.

“I generally don’t use bridges on implants, especially if the patient is a clencher or grinder,” states Dr. Montz. “Implants don’t respond as well as natural teeth to those forces because of certain structural dissimilarities.

“When you use bridges to restore missing teeth, the bridges are essentially all there is absorbing the forces of clenching and grinding. Therefore, the bridge is more likely to break due to those forces.”

Campaign Confident

Calling upon his years of expertise, Dr. Montz selected the exact procedures to effectively restore Eugene’s dental health and revitalize his smile. Eugene agrees with Dr. Montz’s choices and is excited by their positive outcome.

“I’m very pleased with the results,” enthuses Eugene. “Now, I look and feel more confident, which will help me during my campaign. I’m also proud of my smile now, and I smile all the time. Dr. Montz’s excellent work is instrumental in
making that happen.”

Not only is Eugene pleased with the way his dental work turned out, he’s also happy with his visits to River City Dentistry. He’s grateful for everyone he encounters there. He especially appreciates the deep care and concern that are natural aspects of Dr. Montz’s chairside manner.

“My experience getting work done at River City Dentistry is very positive,” Eugene says. “Dr. Montz and his staff are incredible. They’re very friendly, kind and helpful. I always feel comfortable working with them. I recommend them to anyone.

“I have a lot of trust and confidence in Dr. Montz. I value his experience and appreciate the fact that he really cares enough to want to make me look and feel better. I didn’t realize how bad my teeth were and how much the corrections Dr. Montz implemented improved my life.”

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Patti DiPanfilo, Staff Writer for Florida Health Care News, has been a health care writer and editor for close to 25 years. She is a graduate of Gannon University In Erie, Pa, and is experienced in both marketing and educational writing. She joined Florida Health Care News in 2013.

River City Dentistry focuses on their patients' overall experience. They strive for excellence in every aspect of patient care. They do this by maintaining the latest technologies, working convenient hours, and by implementing a comfo... Read More

Richard C. Montz, DDS, completed his undergraduate studies at Bowling Green State University, OH, and earned his degree in dental surgery from Ohio State University. Dr. Montz served as a dental officer in the US NAVY DENTAL CORPS from 1985 u... Read More